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I get that the special is going to major on recent stuff and characters. That's what most of the audience know. And I get that budget contraints will stop it being the huge event that some fans seem to thnik they 'deserve' just for being fans. What I don't get is why, with channels they can barely afford to keep on air because they can't make programmes for them, the BBC can't keep classic fans happy with a few repeats. That seems to be deliberate avoidance.

Maybe the BBC themselves are embarrassed by classic material and don't want to risk fans of the new show seeing it?

They have repeated some on BBC Four in the recent past, in fact I believe we watched some together last year. They're rumoured to be replaying 1 measly serial for the anniversary. But I'm surprised they haven't managed to come up with some idea to fill the schedules, 1, 2, 3, 4, they could have retrospective, cheap but new shows on BBC One, BBC Two with repeats of the new series, 4 with repeats of old, and then the new Anniversary stuff could share between 1, 2 and 3 and they'd have filled 10s or scores of hours for very little money and have pleased the fans.

I'm not saying they should do that, or that we deserve that, or anything like that. But it would make sense and be fitting in the anniversary year to do something special if not expensive.

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“Wisdom comes from experience. Experience is often a result of lack of wisdom.”
― Terry Pratchett

Yeah, I remember how they aired serials from each Doctor at the time of the 20th anniversary. For me, and probably a lot of people my age, that was the first real chance to see Doctors 1-3 and shorter broadcasting days. And that was when there was only BBC 1 and 2 on air. Surely with all the channels they have now and all the screen time to fill, they'd not only be able to fit some in, but that they'd be actively glad of it?

Yeah, I remember how they aired serials from each Doctor at the time of the 20th anniversary. For me, and probably a lot of people my age, that was the first real chance to see Doctors 1-3 and shorter broadcasting days. And that was when there was only BBC 1 and 2 on air. Surely with all the channels they have now and all the screen time to fill, they'd not only be able to fit some in, but that they'd be actively glad of it?

That's the weird thing. BBC America has done better by Doctor Who this year than the BBC's own stations in the UK. The BFI film series is nice enough for those who can attend, but that's the problem with it -- it's for a very limited audience in a specific place. An "Eleven Faces of Doctor Who" (riffing on JNT's "Five Faces" in the run-up to "Castrovalva") on BBC 3 or BBC 4 should have been a natural. I'm curious if such a thing were ever under consideration and, if it was, who scuttled it and why.

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"When David Marcus cited the great thinkers of history -- "Newton, Einstein, Surak" -- Newt Gingrich did not make his list." -- 24 January 2012

Then it's time he was kicked off the show and replaced by someone who genuinely does give a damn about everything that made it great in the first place.

If you expect any professional to turn Doctor Who into a nostalgia-fest full of homages and cryptic references about the show's past, you're going to be disappointed. A nod here and there, yes, a couple of references, of course, but you're never going to get the kind of wasn't-it-fun-in-the-good-old-days museum show you're interested in. Anyway, nostalgia is not what made Doctor Who great in the first place, quite the opposite.

Russell T. Davies provided fantastic nostalgia when he reintroduced Sarah Jane Smith and Davros, characters not seen on TV in many years. Steven Moffat himself brought in the Fifth Doctor for Time Crash. They were great call-backs to Classic Who, and for me anyway, further enriched the experience of the new series.

I have no doubt that Moffat cares a lot about Doctor Who. And, for the most part, I've enjoyed his tenure. I hope he doesn't stay a whole lot longer, but that's not because I've disliked what he's done. It's just time for a change.

As for the Anniversary special. If it's a good story, I'll be happy. I also don't think we know that much about what will be in it. Just a few details from the location shooting but virtually nothing else.

However, I'm dissappointed by the lack of a classic Doctor. Don't be thrown off by the oft mentioned red-herring of a room filled with bickering Doctors. Nah, even just one would be nice. Who knows, it might still happen in the studio shooting.

But, I also figure that if the classic series could get the 2nd Doctor and Jamie in for The Two Doctors, which wasn't an anniversary special, shoot certainly the current series with a much larger budget could have done the same idea within a non-anniversary story?

In the previous season, they could've incorporated a classic Doctor and a companion into an episode.